Now Try This: Make Some Music

My smile may say it all, but if you need more convincing on the power of music, watch YOUR BRAIN ON MUSIC:

They always say “Mother knows best.” (And by “they” I mean moms.) Well, it’s true. My mom has been a ukulele pusher for almost a decade now. “Pusher” is the apt term here, because she will really push a uke into your hands and show you how to use it. Spoiler alert: it’s fun, easy, and magical. (And great for your brain, and overall wellness to boot.)

I’m stepping up to be the digital ukulele pusher. All you need is a uke (they are affordable, I bought a Mahalo one) and a tuner (makes life so easy) and to dust off your guitar hero skillz, because guess what? Awesome people like Dr Jill Reese have put amazing videos up on Youtube to allow you to play along with the songs. It’s like guitar hero, only with a real, adorable, plucky little instrument.

It was pretty much the greatest thing ever to type “Dr Jill Reese” (thank you so much to the Patchogue Medford Library Ukulele Group for recommending this) into YouTube on our Apple TV… the first song that came up was Best Day of My Life, and then a continuous stream of songs kept on coming.

I am sharing an example below. This one’s for my mom because she is a HUGE Rufus Wainwright fan. In fact, the ONE time she visited me since my move to San Diego in 2010, this is how it went down: Mom flies in to California. Mom watches Rufus Wainwright at Humphrys on the Bay. Mom flies home to NY.